Documentary of Hal Holbrook's Mark Twain Life To Be Released

Aspiration Entertainment will release the new documentary Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey November 19. Watch the official trailer for the film, which chronicles Holbrook’s six decades on stage—including the longest-running one-man show in U.S. history, Mark Twain Tonight!— above.

The film features commentary by Holbrook as well as Sean Penn, Martin Sheen, Emile Hirsch, Annie Potts, Tony winner Cherry Jones, and Robert Patrick. The documentary, shot in black-and-white, is directed by Scott Teems.

Mark Twain Tonight! —featuring the writing and speeches of Mark Twain arranged and edited by Holbrook—opened Off-Broadway at the 41st Theatre in 1959 and soon became a hit. Holbrook, who was 34 at the time, then toured the show around the country and the world. It arrived on Broadway March 22, 1966, where it played 85 performances. Holbrook won that year's Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. The following year, the show was taped for a CBS special, which drew a reported 30 million viewers and won an Emmy Award for Holbrook.

Since then, Holbrook—ever associated with the persona of Twain, despite a varied career on stage and film—has periodically revived the show. He brought the show back to Broadway twice, for limited runs in 1977 and 2005.

http://www.playbill.com/article/watch-trailer-for-holbrook-twain-an-american-odyssey